Modern AU
by arra-numair
Summary: Daine's been working on opening a clinic in her Ma's name but she needs help getting an investor. Working in Onua's cafe, she meets Numair who's more than willing to assist... (Second chapter's up! Sorry for the delay... It is shorter though...)
1. First Meetings

"Small caramel frappuccino!"

It was a really busy day at the Rider's Café. Casual beachgoers and surfers alike were all crowded in. It was the beginning of a long weekend and it seemed like everyone was on vacation.

_Where is Onua? I can't handle all this myself!_ thought a harried Daine Sarrasri. It was just her first month as an assistant manager and Onua, the café owner and basically Daine's older sister, had already trusted her with running things alone, leaving her with a mob of thirsty customers to help out a friend with some problem or another.

"Yo, Boss," called Farant, "We've been running out of straws for the last hour."

_Uh oh. Straws. Where are they again?_

"Out back, Daine-y!" Miri said walking by her. With a pixie cut and a splattering of freckles across her face, she was the impersonation of mischief and everyone's best friend.

"Um, _hello? _Anyone there? Can it understand me?" Farant's harsh voice echoed in her ear.

"Lay off, idjit," Evin announced, walking into the café for the beginning of the shift. "No worries, lambkin. He's just pissed Onua didn't even consider him for your job."

Evin Larse was a dear. A joker most of the time, but always helpful. Like Miri, actually. _Those two are meant for each other._

"Thanks, Larse! And Farant, courteousness is expected of all our baristasat all times. Please do remember that."

She walked over to the dark room, waiting at the entrance with her eyes closed. The room was tiny and she doubted she'd ever get used to it. Small spaces still made her uncomfortable. Grabbing a stack of cups, she left as quickly as possible.

The others were working as fast as possible, trying to keep up with the flurry of orders. Well, all except Selda. She'd made it very clear that she was only working because otherwise her "Darling Daddy" had threatened to block her credit cards. This was apparently supposed to be a study in responsibility. Funny, because Daine always thought being responsible at work kind of meant actually working. Based on personal experience, she'd always tried not to judge others based on their backgrounds, but Selda… Now she's picking at her perfectly manicured nails.

Daine sighed and leaned against the counter, checking the clock. Half past three. _I can make it! She'll be here soon! _There were quite a few customers in line, dripping sea water and sand all over the place. That'll take some cleaning up. Maybe Farant could do it… Hard work might help fix that snarky attitude.

"Hey Dee," Miri slid next to her, adding an extra shot of espresso to some drink or another. "Doing anything later tonight?"

"Well, not really. Onua wanted me to stay back though. It's inventory night."

"Oh that stinks. Cute guy a few days ago mentioned a new club I thought we could check out!"

"I'll pass. Clubs aren't really my thing. Way too cramped."

"Ugh fine," Miri whined. "But we have to do something about your nonexistent social life. Speaking of, the blonde one over there looked interested in you! And he's definitely at least a seven… Oh look! Dimples! Now he's an eight!"

Daine could help smiling at Miri's indecisiveness. "Miri! We're working! We don't rank the customers, we make drinks for them. Now go make that vanilla whatchamacallit."

Miri grumbled something about a boring ol' hermit, picked up a cup and sloshed the milk in it everywhere. Graceful as a swan, that one.

_She's right about the hermit thing though. Having some fun every once in a while wouldn't hurt… _

_No. It hasn't been that long that I can just forget and move on with my life. _

_It's been years! How much longer should I wait?_

_ How could I just get on with life like that! Anyways, I need to get serious about finding a job. _

_ I have a job! It may not be permanent and definitely isn't what I want to do, but it's a job! Appreciate it!_

_ First, Onua gave me this job as a favor. Sure, I'm overqualified and yeah, I do try my hardest here, but I still need to get out of her hair as soon as possible. And there's no point in having goals if I don't try work towards them. I've always wanted to rebuild Ma's clinic. There's no point giving that up now and that's the end of it!_

Daine shook her head. This was an old argument, one she'd had many times since moving to Corus. It never seemed to get resolved.

Her phone buzzed on the counter. It was a text from Onua. Apparently things were taking longer than expected.

The crowd of customers was beginning to thin now. A lot more breathing room now. The summer sun was low in the sky.

"And time's up! Laters," called Selda halfway through the door. She still had twenty minutes left. Oh well! Not like she was doing anything anyways. Speaking of shifts though, Evin's had been over for almost an hour now.

"Larse, you should leave. You don't get overtime." Daine called, looking for something to eat. She'd forgotten to lunch once again.

"Oh how could a man leave you two damsels in distress to deal with all those thirsty peeps? Really though, I tried but I got this weird, sick feeling in my stomach. I think people call it guilt?"

"Well one damsel just left and the other, well, I don't think Farant appreciates you calling him that," Miri laughed. _Yup. Totally meant for each other. _

"Ha ha ha. No, I've got a date with a lovely brunette near here in about ten minutes. I'll be out of your curly curls soon, my dear Veralidaine."

Daine slammed the apple she'd been nibbling on the table. No one called her Veralidaine. _No one._ Well her last boss, Ozorne, had insisted on it but he was absolutely disgusting. Real touchy, that one. One threatened sexual harassment charge and a swift resignation later, he wasn't a problem. _Of course, I am still looking for a job… Even though I have a job. No! We're not starting this again._

_ Wait, talking to yourself is a sign of impending madness, right? _

_Mouse manure. Can't bother about being mad now. _

She checked the clock again. Quarter past six. _Nearly closing time now. Might as well start inventory since no one's here. _

"Miri, could you help me set up for inventory? Farant, cleaning's yours today. Finish up quick and you can go home early."

Farant sullenly stalked towards the closet, feet dragging across the floor. Miri skipped to the music player and changed the music from some instrumental Mediterranean songs to some obnoxious pop artist or another.

"Background music!" she chirped. Daine preferred indie to pop music any day but she let it play. Farant seemed to like it if his wagging rear and off-key vocals were any indication. Plus Miri hated songs that didn't play fifty times over on the radio. Need to keep her happy to get work done.

Inventory was Daine's least favorite part about this job, mainly because it was so time consuming. There were a lot of things to go through; Onua was meticulous when it came to record keeping.

Farant finished up in record time, out of the door in minutes. Miri struggled, trying to carry far more than she actually could. Daine rushed over to help her.

"Daine? Why can't you go into the closet?" Miri asked hesitantly. " I mean I get if –"

"Claustrophobia." Daine answered. It was a common question.

"Oh… Did something happen or…?" Miri continued, glancing at Daine from the corner of her eye.

"Umm… Not really. It's always been there." She'd always been afraid of small spaces. Her Ma always said it was because of her free soul. It had only gotten worse over time though, and what had happened all those years ago didn't help much either.

_No. No more thinking about that._

With all the boxes now stacked up on the counter and every other tabletop available. _This will take some time._

"Miri, you can go. It's been a long day. I can wait for Onua."

"Are you sure? You'll be here all alone and I don't mind, really!"

"It's fine! I can take care of myself. Go on! You have all those tv shows to catch up on. Who am I to stop you?"

Miri 's freckled face broke into a lopsided grin as she quickly gathered up her stuff. "Thanks Daine! I've been keeping off the Interwebs for ages now trying to avoid spoilers!"

Daine rolled her eyes. Some people just got so _obsessed_. "Have funsies!"

"You too! Inventory all the way!" Miri called from outside. "Night! I'll call tomorrow to make plans for later!"

_Darn. Hope she'd forgotten._

Daine looked at all the boxes around her. This was no task for just one person. Onua would be pissed if she started by herself. She always complained Daine worked too hard.

_Well, guess this is free time!_

Pulling down her bag from a hook behind the counter, Daine slipped out her laptop and settled down on the floor between boxes filled with coffee beans from all over the world. Onua was insistent on getting the widest variety of coffee available. Daine sometimes thought it was more for herself rather than the customers. That woman seemed to inhale the stuff.

Getting herself comfortable, Daine switched off Miri's music and booted up her computer. Her lifelong dream was to open a clinic in honor of her Ma. Her Ma had been a doctor, and a great one at that. She often treated patients for free, insistent that no one should have to spend exorbitant fees to live the healthy lives they were meant to lead. She'd had a makeshift clinic of her own but Daine had to have it shut down due to financial troubles. Treating patients for free meant her Ma had been deep in debt.

She managed to work her way through college but was now paying off an insane amount of debt. The only way she'd be able to open a clinic within her own lifetime would be by finding a very generous investor. So far, no one thought she was capable of running such an establishment due to her young age.

_Odd's bobs! I helped out in Ma's clinic from the day I could do long division. My age is definitely not a problem!_

Daine quickly checked her inbox and then, after deleting a mess of spam, opened her proposal to investors. The last firm hadn't even glanced past the first page, saying the estimated statistics were far too optimistic. _Time to check them over again!_

She immersed herself in her work. Starting the clinic was her purpose but business was her passion. She'd always loved the behind the scenes work that went on at the clinic. Business school had almost been easy for her.

Time passed by. She quietly worked on, her only companion the rapid taps from her keyboard.

The door suddenly jangled and crashed open, breaking the silence. Daine leaped up and yelped. _Gosh darn it! What the heck?_

"Hey Daine! I'm ba- Oh did I scare you?" Onua asked, noticing her expression for the first time.

Daine glared at her. "Maybe if you came in like a person and not an… an… Ox!"

Onua's huge dog came bounding up to Daine, jumping all over her and knocking her on her back. His name was Tahoi, but Daine affectionately called the big beast "Ox." He was a Great Dane mutt on the outside and the cuddliest sweetheart on the inside.

Ox sniffed Daine all over, only pulling back after licking every inch of her face. He then sat down, tail thumping the ground, tongue lolling out of his mouth. Daine patted him on the head and pushed herself off the floor.

Onua was inside now, picking her way through all the boxes to the coffee machine. "Coffee, Daine?"

"Yes please!" Daine started packing up her bag again. It was time to get inventorying!

"You, Numair? We'll probably be busy for a long time." _Wait, what? Who? _She looked up at Onua in confusion. Onua was looking towards the doorway, a mischievous smirk on her face.

Daine awkwardly turned to the doorway, still in a half-sitting position. _Woah that's tall! _He almost reached the top of the doorway. His hair nearly reached his shoulders but was tied back. His eyes were dark, looking at the jumble of boxes in shock. _He's the _definition_ of tall, dark, and handsome. Never thought that was possible… _It took him a moment to answer Onua.

"Umm… Yeah! Coffee sounds good! Great…" he finally broke his gaze away form the mess. His voice was soft but deep, almost hesitant in the way he articulated each word.. "Onua, what's all this?"

"Inventory!" she grinned evilly.

"Wait, we have to go through all of this?" Now he just looked scared.

"Well, think of this as a lesson to always check your gas before leaving for a roadtrip!"

Daine watched the exchange between the two, amused. _Poor guy. Onua can be ruthless. _

"You'll also be giving Daine a break, so that's good," Onua added. She turned to Daine, balancing three cups and a plate of muffins. "And I expect you to take it easy, young lady! Today must have been a lot to handle."

Numair looked at Daine, noticing for the first time that there was someone among the boxes. His face broke into a shy smile.

"Hi, I'm Numair. Onua's told me a lot about you," he said, walking over to help her finally get up.

She smiled up to him and took the offered hand. "Oh has she? I don't recall her saying anything about you to be honest."

"Oh he's the one who that thought he was a hawk the first time he got drunk!"

He blushed.

"Oh that's you? Guess I have heard about you! Wait isn't that the same one who accidentally dated those twins at the same time?"

His face flushed even more. _Heh. He's totally awkwarded out._

"Yeah! He also –"

"Haven't you already stained my reputation enough?" He had finally regained his composure. The hesitance in his voice replaced by a nonchalant drawl, his long body gracefully leaning against the wall. _He's like a cat… A big cat. Big but graceful. A panther?_

"Oh I haven't even begun," Onua cackled evilly. She passed a cup to Daine and sat herself down on the floor. "Daine, don't feel obligated to help. You've done more than enough today. You can actually go early if you want… Though I was going to order Thai."

"No worries. I'll stay. There's a lot more to go through this time and I haven't got much else to do."

Numair came over to sit down next to Onua. "So, what _do_ we have to do?"

Daine walked over to e counter to get Onua's work laptop. Onua was mumbling instructions, unable to talk through the muffin she had stuffed in her mouth.

"We basically open up all these boxes, count what's left in them, and record those numbers here," she translated.

Numair nodded. "Seems easy enough. What should I do?"

"You'll carry things and count them and do whatever else we want!" Onua proclaimed, slamming her fist on the floor. _Poor guy._

He sighed. A tired, look on his face as he looked at her. Daine came over to sit on Onua's other side, the three of them making a triangle on the floor.

"Well, time for box _numero uno_! Oh Numy-dear!"

**Author's Note!**

**Hiya everyone! Real quick, is this worth continuing?**


	2. Bonding Times

A few hours later, most of the boxes were taken care of, the floor now littered with empty takeout boxes. The three worked steadily, too tired to waste time. Conversation between them had been fun with Onua teasing Numair relentlessly and Numair responding the same. Needless to say, Daine heard a lot of embarrassing stories that night.

They were now finishing the last box. "Done!" Onua cheered. "You should help out all the time…"

"Ha! No thanks… I definitely did learn my lesson though," Numair replied, sretching as he got up to put the last box away.

"Well, guess it's time to get home," Onua said, getting up with Daine. "We deserve a good night's sleep."

"Yup. Can I get a ride, Onua?"

"Course! Got a place to stay, Numair?"

"Yeah! I booked a room at that hotel by the beach. I'll drop by some time tomorrow," he said, picking up his jacket and heading towards the door. "It was nice to finally meet you, Daine!"

Daine looked up from packing her bag and flashed him a quick but tired smile. "Likewise! Have a good night! And thanks for the help."

"Of course. Good night! Night, Onua!" he called, stepping outside.

"Night! Come on Tahoi! Got everything, Daine?" Onua asked, grabbing her car keys and Tahoi's leash from the counter.

Daine nodded.

_Numair was really nice. Nothing like the way Onua described him. _

"So! Got any plans for the weekend? And I do expect you to take tomorrow evening off."

"I think I actually might be doing something! Miri wants me to get out more, have some fun tomorrow night... How about you?"

"Alanna 'n George are in town! I just spoke to them today and we're probably going to have dinner or something on Sunday. Wanna come with?"

"Oh I haven't seen Lanna in ages! I wouldn't be butting in or anything right?" Daine asked hesitantly.

"No, of course not! They said they would've called you too today but I told them you would probably be busy."

"Ugh yes, today was insane! Of all the days for you to leave me all alone."

"You could manage it! Plus I had to. Numair may be a genius but he sure is absentminded… Bit nutty too. I couldn't just leave him out in the middle of nowhere all by himself!"

"Onua, the shining knight in armor," Daine said sarcastically. She picked up her bag as her apartment approached.

"That's right! Have a good night, Daine." Onua pulled up to the curb in front of the building.

"You too," she said, giving Tahoi one last ear rub and exiting the car.

She listened to Onua drive away, the only other sound the ocean's waves. Daine walked up the stairs to her home. _Gosh, I hope Cloud didn't rip anything up today._ Cloud, her smoky grey cat, had the habit of ripping up what little furniture Daine had whenever she felt like Daine had taken too long to come home. Daine checked the sofa as soon as she opened the door. _Oh thank the gods._ Safe. Cloud was sitting on the windowsill, looking at the street below.

"Hi Cloud."

No response. _The true Grumpy Cat._

"Well, I'm going to bed. Good night."

Daine slung her bag in the closet, closed the door halfway and promptly walked over to her bathroom. A few minutes later, she collapsed in her bed. Just as she was falling asleep, she felt something furry burrow itself next to her. She smiled at her cat's act of forgiveness.

The next morning found Daine at the cafe bright and early. It was surprisingly empty for a morning. _Guess everyone's just sleeping off Friday night. _Farant was with her, switching through channels on TV. He finally settled on _Adventure Time? Wouldn't have expected that from him…_

He looked at her from the corner of her eye. "I babysit my niece and nephew and they got me hooked," He muttered.

_Heh… Who would have thought?_

It was incredibly empty. The door jingled when Evin came in for his shift a couple of hours later, dark circles under his eyes and his hair and ruffled up. He just walked up to a table and collapsed in the chair. A few seconds later she heard him lightly snore.

_Argh. Where is everyone?_

A few minutes later, the door jingled again. This time it was a sweet old couple. _Customers!_ They hobbled up to the counter and ordered two teas, two tea bags each.

She took her time ringing them up. Farant, on the other hand, had their drinks ready in record time, attention on the tv. The Ice King had just kidnapped some princess or another… again.

"Oh you youngsters and your television. No one takes the time to just sit back and appreciate life anymore," the woman said, a small smile on her face as she eyed Farant.

They left soon after, holding hands and murmuring to each other. _They're adorable… Imagine loving someone that much after so many years._

The café fell silent again. Daine looked over at Evin. _Is he drooling? Poor guy. _She checked the clock. It was only a couple of hours before Miri was supposed to come in. _I could just send him home… Him and Farant._

"Farant, you could go if you want," she said.

He glanced at her from the corner of his eye. He finally nodded and just picked up his stuff and left.

"Hope you have a good day too, Farant," Daine grumbled as she walked over to Evin.

"Evin," she said, shaking his shoulder. "Go get some sleep."

He turned his head the opposite direction. She poked him.

"Evin!"

"But I am sleeping," he slurred, eyes still closed.

"No go sleep at home! In bed! You know that nice comfy thing with lots of fluffy pillows and cozy blankets?"

He groaned some more but finally sat up. _Oh gosh he's probably just going to fall asleep in his car._

"You want some coffee? To get you home?"

He nodded with his eyes still shut. Daine got up and made a quick cup. He looked a bit more awake when she put it in front of him. _At least his eyes are open._

He drank it all in one gulp then opened his eyes as much as possible and shook himself.

"Alright. I'm awake now!" He shot her a tired smile and got up.

"Drive safe," she called after him as he stumbled towards the door. He waved back and a few seconds later she heard him drive off. _And then there was one._

She grabbed her laptop and sat down on a table. Onua would come in soon but she could still get some work done. Wasn't like the place was overflowing with customers or anyone really.

She was about to get to work when the door opened. She looked up. It was Numair.

He looked around confusedly, head poking through the door.

"Um, can I come in?"

"Oh no you couldn't possible fit in with all these customers here."

"Ha ha," he mumbled, walking through the door. "I guess everyone's sleeping off the opening of that new club."

_Oh right. Miri mentioned that… _

"Oh wells. I'm not complaining. Yesterday was packed." She got up and got behind the counter. "Coffee?"

"Sure. Just black please! Is Onua here?"

"No she comes in a bit late on Saturdays. She'll be here soon."

"Ah." He looked around. "Looks a lot better without all those boxes!"

"Oh yes, definitely." _Uh oh… Awkward conversation coming up._

He ambled over to the counter and leaned against the edge.

"So…"

She smirked, her back to him. _You can _feel_ the awkward._

She finished the cup and set it in front of him.

"Oh no! You don't have to," she said, noticing him pulling out a credit card.

"Hm?"

"Any friend of Onua's is a friend of free coffee!" _Wait, that was stupid._

"How does she manage to keep business up with that policy? She knows practically all of Corus…"

"Right? That's what I asked her! Then she just shook her head and started wailing about business schools killing the personal aspect of being successful."

"Oh gosh did you get the whole 'Do you want to be a heartless vending machine?' speech too?" Numair asked, a dramatically sad look on his face.

Daine nodded laughing. The sad look morphed into a smile.

"So you're in business?" Daine questioned a couple of moments later.  
"Yup! I'm an advisor of sorts. You?"

"I just finished business school last year. I was working at this one company, Carthak Co., for a few months but that didn't work out."

He froze halfway to taking a sip, his face an emotionless mask. _Umm…?_

"Do you know the place?" she asked hesitantly.

He looked up at her. Relaxing a bit he gave her a wry smile.

"Yeah I interned there as a student… So what are you doing here?"

_Alright. So no more mentioning Carthak._

"I'm between jobs. I used to live with Onua while at university and when I came back here she offered me this lovely position while I get back on my feet."

"Ah I see. It's still kind of hard out there. Onua mentioned you were working on something on the side?"

"Yeah actually. I'm trying to start a clinic for the underprivileged."

He looked up interested.

"That's a huge commitment… Why don't you tell me about it?"


End file.
